


The Other Side of Superheroes

by Grace_Bartleby



Series: Julia Parker [2]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: AU, Don't clock me on that last tag, Embarrassed Peter, Gen, Injury, Makeup, Nightmares, Soft Loki, Superfamily, Superfamily (Marvel), War Paint, embarrassed loki, girl scout cookies, humor?, soft thor, supportive Thor, warpaint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-17 23:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14841443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grace_Bartleby/pseuds/Grace_Bartleby
Summary: A continued look at the life of Julia Parker and the Avengers from The Other Side of War through a collection of one shots. You don't have to read that to understand this, but it helps. Very domestic, just warning you.





	1. Girl Scout Cookies

Julia woke up with a gasp, clutching her chest in alarm.

 

Ever since the final war with Thanos, she had vivid nightmares of his attack- his taunting, his fist tunneling itself into her chest, the cracking of her bones- and had been left with the semi permanent scars of the attack for the past month, a brace of sorts around her lungs, made by Tony with vibranium from Wakanda that is the only thing that kept her lungs from collapsing and killing her from the inside out. Giving herself a few steadying breaths, she looked around her and Peter’s shared room in the Avengers Tower, noting the loss of his presence. She sees a note on top of her fan she keeps next to her bed, the paper flapping and creating a calming sound of crinkling. She picks it up with shaky fingers.

 

_ Hey Jules! I went out running w/ Cap and Nat, be back l8er -Peter :))) _

 

She lets out a soft chuckle, folding the note and placing it on the bedside table, turning her fan off next to it. Hauling herself up from the bed, she goes over to the dresser and throws on one of Peter’s endless hoodies, slipping her feet inside of Iron Man slippers- courtesy of Mr. Stark from Christmas, met with sarcastic and dry thank you. She casually saunters to the door and pulls it open to be met with the quiet living quarters. She shuffles to the kitchen, and before the fridge can open a soft sound similar to cardboard being broken is heard from the living room. It halts her fingers in place, the sound amplifying in her ears to remind her all to well of her ribs cracking.

 

Immediately tense, Julia withdraws her hand from the fridge, putting it comfortingly on the skin between her and her metal lungs. The few plants Tony allows in the house around the kitchen- “It makes my power easier to control!” Julia explained while dumping a few seeds of kitchen necessities on the counter, smiling at him hopefully- seem to grow alert, twirling around it’s base. She knew everyone was out- Tony and Dr. Stephen Strange were out ‘discussing the future of the Avengers’ which she was sure was code for, going on dates without making Cap jealous, Clint and Sam went to go visit his kids, and Bruce went to another lab owned by Tony to experiment in peace. She knew that Thor was on a trip to the M&M factory today, shown by his gleeful expression with a determination to meet ‘a man dressed like a colored chocolate candy I do so enjoy!’, dragging Loki along with him.

 

She put her arms up in a defensive stance before stalking slowly to the open entrance connecting the living room and the kitchen. She heard the sound of crinkling, and nervously wondered if they were opening Tony’s packages from the mail. Finally, taking a deep breath, she rushes into the living room with a quick cry full of adrenaline. Expecting an intruder, she pulled her fist back into a punch, but it halted quickly when she saw what it truly was.

 

Loki sat, nestled awkwardly between couch cushions in a simple Stark logo t shirt and sweatpants, opening a pack of s’mores Girl Scout Cookies. He looks up in alarm at her cry, voicing a similar noise after her.

 

“Ah!” She yelled, demanding.

 

“Ah!” He shouted fearfully.

 

“Loki?” She asked, confused,” Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be with Thor at the-” She stops herself. “Wait a minute- are those  _ Girl Scout Cookies _ ?”

 

“I  _ thought _ I was alone!” He explains, his cheeks turning red in embarrassment, attempting to push the carton of cookies behind him. Julia pushes his hand away and grabs them before he can react, letting out a short laugh in astonishment.

 

“No way! Who knew an Asgardian God likes Girl Scout Cookies!” He scowls.

 

“I do not like them! They were simply in the cupboard at the time of my hunger!” She smirks at him sarcastically, a hand on her hip, the other holding the cookies tauntingly.

 

“Uh huh, because the Avengers totally buy Girl Scout Cookies on their days off and leave them on the counters.” He crumbles under her accusatory stare. 

 

“Okay, fine, I like cookies- so what?” He folds his arms and almost-  _ no _ , Julia thinks, grinning,  _ there’s no way that Loki is  _ **_pouting_ ** .

 

“Oh, wait until Peter hears this!” She exclaims gleefully, pulling her phone out of her hoodie’s pocket, but it is quickly taken away by an upset god. “Hey man-”

 

“Don’t,  _ hey man _ me,” He mocks, holding the phone up so Julia can’t grab it, even without jumping and using his shoulder as support. “You will tell no one any such thing about this encounter!”

 

“And why not?” She demands, crossing her arms.

 

“Um,  _ because it’s embarrassing _ !” He cries. She huffs.

 

“For you, I’m having an amazing time milking this for all it’s worth.” Loki sighs.

 

“Look, Juliette, knowing that a God who has tried to kill you multiple times has a guilty pleasure consisting of cookies sold by the cult that is american groups of congregated young girls, he is bound to lose a little bit of credibility.” She studies him intently for a moment, staring down his pleading features, before letting out an exasperated breath and holding the plastic container of cookies out to him.

 

“Here, I’ll be in the training room for an hour, so if a certain Mischief God decides to eat somes cult S’more Cookies out here in the Avenger’s living room, I may or may not notice it happening” Loki sighs in relief, taking the package from her.

 

“Thank you.” He supplies gratefully. She laughs as she leaves.

 

“No problem, besides, they aren’t even the good kind, Tagalongs are where it’s at!” He throws a pillow at where she once stood in the living room entrance, her cackling being heard as she makes her way down the hallway.


	2. War Paint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor learns about Midgardian culture with Julia, makeup, and a fearful Peter.

Julia rushed past the group of Avengers in the kitchen carrying a brown paper bag and wildly giggling, her hand already going for her inhaler in her pocket- having metal lungs really didn’t work well with running three miles from the beauty supply store. She lets out a quick,” Hey Mr. Stark, Thor, Nat, Pete, Drax, I’ll be in the bathroom if you need me!” The hallway door slams shut behind her, and they all hear her vaguely take a few puffs from her inhaler behind it. They all sit in confused silence for a moment until Drax speaks.

 

“Congratulations Spiderman.” Peter looks at him, head tilted in confusion.

 

“What?” Drax stands, clapping him on the back heartily sending Peter to the floor with a surprised yelp.

 

“It is tradition to congratulate the oldest man of the family when a woman becomes pregnant in their family.” Peter pales, his eyes widening. Nat coughs and Tony spits his coffee back into the cup, sputtering.

 

“WHAT?” Drax nods gleefully, while Tony and Peter share looks of panic, looking completely mortified.

 

“Yes- on my planet, women show moments of pure insanity before they begin showing pregnancy.” Peter begins whining in the back of his throat, his arms flying wildly around him.

“Mr. Stark?  _ Mr. Stark?  _ **_Mr. Stark?_ ** ” He asks in varying degrees of panic, and Tony can only shake his head furiously. “I’m not ready to be an uncle!” Thor stands up.

 

“This will not stand! I must see the true reason for Julia’s odd behaviour!” He valiantly walks to the bathroom door while Natasha runs her fingers through Peter’s hair soothingly as he continues to ramble about Drax’s prediction. Thor takes a deep breath before knocking on the bathroom door lightly.

 

“Youngest spider, may I come in?” He hears Julia chuckle behind the door.

 

“Yes Thor.” He opens it, and finds a mess of glass bottles and plastic compacts littered along the bathroom counter, Julia in the middle of it all with a mirror surrounded by lights and an odd contraption around her eyelashes, pulling them up.

 

“I do not understand, is this some form of Midgardian torture device?” Thor asks worriedly.

“It’s an eyelash curler Thor, far from torture.” She insists, taking it off her eye only to place it on the other one. It curls around her lashes and pulls her lid up, and Thor winces with sympathy for his young friend.

 

“I do not understand the purpose.” Julia sighs, taking the eyelash curler away and placing it on the counter, instead picking up a long black tube.

 

“It’s a Midgardian thing- people wear makeup to make themselves look more appealing.” Thor frowns.

 

“Do people not find your normal face appealing, Juliette?” Julia smiles at him from the mirror, and he returns it widely, sitting on the floor next to her. Due to his height, he still remains at her shoulders despite her being sat on a bathroom stool.

 

“Not particularly Thor, no.” She makes an odd face at the mirror, and Thor tilts his head to the side in confusion.

 

“Why not? On Asgard, you’d be very prized. Many suitors, from families of royal blood- or well, you would’ve been.” Thor’s face darkens slightly as he remembers the fate of his home planet, but quickly changes the subject. “Many promises of livestock for a woman of your strength and power.”

 

“As much as I love the promise of livestock, that’s not how this works here. On Midgard... “ Julia hesitates, as if confused on how to word her statement, putting down the plastic tube. “On Midgard, people are expected to be beautiful, in different standards depending on culture, and we’re taught at a young age that it is done through makeup. I guess I use it as… kind of like war paint.” Thor perks up at that.

 

“War paint?” She nods, picking up a glossy glass tube and opening it.

 

“Yeah, like, how in battle people use it to appear more dangerous and united, so do people who wear makeup. Well, kinda. I put on some makeup and it makes me feel better about how I look.” Thor seems to contemplate her words carefully, before standing up.

 

“Then I too must feel the strength that one gains when wearing this war paint. Would you assist me in using these odd torture contraptions?” Julia smiles at him, soft and grateful.

 

“Yeah Thor, of course.”

 

And so, a half an hour later, Thor returned out of the bathroom alongside Julia with a full face of makeup. His face was covered in liquids and powers that covered up the small scars he gained during war, and his eyelid was covered in fine glitter and a black sharp line, the other still covered by his eyepatch. He had a particular awful experience with mascara, cursing in old Norse languages on the devil object, while Julia giggled and promise that it was almost over. Tony and Peter look at him dumbfounded from their spots on the couch, Nat shaking her head at him from the kitchen, and Drax alongside Loki.

 

“Brother… what is this?” Loki asks hesitantly. Thor smiles at him proudly.

 

“War paint, brother.” The room remains in awkward silence while Thor looks at Julia, who gives him a supportive thumbs up. Finally Thor speaks again,” And I am fairly certain that Juliette is not pregnant, simply excited about the prospects of war.”

 

“I’m not  _ what _ ?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's me again! I love soft and supportive Thor. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated! Have a great day


	3. 60's Diner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes to investigate some Avenger's business and finds something else entirely.

When Tony walked into the dingy old diner on the corner of  _ Bad New York _ and  _ Unwelcome New York _ he was not expecting to find Julia Parker behind the counter.

 

The Avengers knew of some suspicious activities that were taking place around this residence with selling illegal alien tech- “Again?” Peter whined- and Tony, in an attempt to get out of a few boring meetings, happily accepted the offer to investigate, waving farewell to the rest of the Avengers and giving Stephen a short shoulder squeeze as he left in endearment, making Steve wince and glance down at the meeting room table. He rushed down in true Tony Stark fashion, having Happy drive him in a much too expensive car, drop him off in the only spot with sun so he could wear his sunglasses with a reason, and model walked straight into the establishment, telling Happy to not wait up.

 

The place looked exactly how Tony expected it to- a greasy, ‘60’s diner theme, with dirt covered checkered flooring, ugly blue stools clashing with the bright red booths, all tied together with the frowns on every workers face, complete with paper hats and black and white waiter clothes. Just as Tony went to speak to the girl at the counter who was rubbing a mysteriously not-water-but-also-looks-like-water substance off of the table, her hair covering her face from view, she shifts up, and he sees the all too familiar face of Julia Parker. Ah, the high schooler who for some reason shows up when Peter is getting Avenger’s training and raids his fridge while Thor is her awful lookout, and Loki his. She meets his eyes and hers widen, throwing the rag onto her belt before attempting to avoid him, pulling out a paper pad and rushing to a booth close.

 

“Hello, my name is Julia, I’ll be your server today, what can I get you to drink?” She greets warmly to a mother and her chubby son, whos blubbering over having a salt shaker taken away just as he was going to swallow it down fills the diner. Tony, amused, takes a seat on the ugly blue stools, his right leg propped up, his sunglasses returning to his pocket. Julia stalls as long as she can, but after the woman insists that they don’t want an appetizer for the third time, Julia pouts and stalks off the behind the counter.

 

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite honorary Avenger.” Tony muses sarcastically. She rolls her eyes and passes the people food order off to the chef, and picks up the mismatched plastic cups before going to the soda station.

 

“Gee, thanks, I can’t wait to put that on my college resume.” She comments dryly, turning on the ice before he can reply. Tony waits until the noise stops.

 

“See, maybe my memory is failing me, for the first time in my life,” She raises an eyebrow,” but I could swear that you have to be eighteen to become a waitress?” Julia smiles tightly.

 

“And I thought you had to be fifteen to wear skinny jeans, and yet here we are.” She bumps into him matter-of-factly before returning to the mother and the boy, who is now wiping his tears with the curtain beside their booth. Tony cringes.

 

“No seriously kid, what are you doing here?” She returns to the counter and he follows her, ignoring her annoyed stance at his presence.

 

“Generally, when you get paid to work, you have to show up. Odd huh?” He sputters.

 

“You work here? Why?” Her lower lip disappears into her mouth nervously, biting down. Finally she slams her hands on the counter.

 

“Because my aunt works weird hours to pay for Peter’s continuously disappearing backpack, Peter is a literal Avenger, so that doesn’t exactly pay for much beside the job perks, and there are three fully grown people living in New York, and on a singular income? Not gonna happen.” He frowns.

 

“Why didn’t you just ask me-” She interrupts him.

 

“You really think that proud Aunt May is gonna let me grovel to Peter’s rich boss about how we had to beg for an extension on our rent payment because Peter needed a crown for his tooth? Or about how she had to walk to work every day for a month because the car broke down and the bus was too expensive? Yeah, right. She won’t accept an extra penny from anyone.”

 

“Well what if-” She interjects again, picking up a customers pile of trash as he left.

 

“If you decide to miraculously give Peter a raise I’ll know about it.,” His mouth opens again,” Or if you buy our apartment building. Or if we get a random generous donation from the school because Peter and I are on the free lunch program.” His mouth closes, his brow furrowing. She gives him a light smile,” Look, our family has too much pride. This is just a thing that we have to deal with. We’ve done it before you, we’ll do it after. It’s okay. Trust me, Mr. Stark.” 

 

Tony watches her walk toward the food counter to talk with the cook and can’t help but feel a burst of respect for Julia and her family. Despite seeing their home life before, and Peter’s need to go routing in trash in order to gain a new computer, or that their aunt May has a paper clipped stack of coupons around the house in different compartments. He was raised on everything he could ever need, and money wasn’t really something he had to concern himself with too often. Finally he spoke as she went to go back to the table, a tray of food on her right arm and a pitcher of water on her left hand.

 

“Hey Julia.” He calls. She turns her head.

 

“Yeah?” He stands.

 

“I’ll back off, I get it. But… I am going to give a tip to the waitress who helped me out today, and it’s in my perimeters, so just let it happen.” Julia looked strained, as if she really wanted to object, but she swallows whatever she was going to say next harshly, instead opting to nod slowly.

 

“Sure Mr. Stark.”

 

“Have a good day kiddo!” He calls as he exits the diner, the bell chiming happily above him. She watches the door wistfully.

 

“Yeah, yeah you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, constructive criticism is always welcome! Bye guys


End file.
